Cities in Iowa by median age

Carroll, IA had the highest median age of 41 cities in 2021, at 43.2 years. Ames, IA had the lowest, at 23.4 years. The median was 36.5 years and the figure for Iowa was 38.3 years. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest43.2Carroll, IA

Lowest23.4Ames, IA

Median36.541 cities

Iowa38.3History

All cities, 2021

years. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B01002: median age, total population, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2021 years
1	Carroll, IA	43.2
2	Mason City, IA	42.5
3	Burlington, IA	42.4
4	Clinton, IA	42.1
5	Spencer, IA	40.8
6	Newton, IA	40.6
7	Boone, IA	39.5
8	Marion, IA	39.3
9	Le Mars, IA	39.1
10	Pleasant Hill, IA	39
11	Bettendorf, IA	38.9
12	Council Bluffs, IA	38.6
13	Urbandale, IA	38
14	Clive, IA	37.8
14	Davenport, IA	37.8
16	Johnston, IA	37.7
16	Ottumwa, IA	37.7
18	Dubuque, IA	37.6
19	Fort Dodge, IA	37
20	Waterloo, IA	36.8
21	Pella, IA	36.5
22	Cedar Rapids, IA	36.4
23	Muscatine, IA	36.3
24	Altoona, IA	36.2
25	West Des Moines, IA	36.1
26	Marshalltown, IA	36
26	Norwalk, IA	36
28	Grimes, IA	35.6
29	Indianola, IA	35.4
30	Oskaloosa, IA	35.2
31	Sioux City, IA	34.8
32	Des Moines, IA	34.2
33	Waukee, IA	34.1
34	Waverly, IA	33.3
35	Ankeny, IA	32.9
36	Coralville, IA	32.6
37	North Liberty, IA	31.8
38	Storm Lake, IA	30.6
39	Cedar Falls, IA	28
40	Iowa City, IA	26.1
41	Ames, IA	23.4

Other periods

2024
2023
2022
2021

About this ranking

Age that divides the resident population into two halves of equal size. Spain and the EU: on 1 January. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span. Canada: on 1 July, Statistics Canada population estimates.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B01002: median age, total population, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b01002.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B01002: median age, total population, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more) (Cities in Iowa by median age, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b01002.dat

MLA 9

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B01002: median age, total population, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Iowa by median age, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b01002.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-age/iowa-cities?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B01002: median age, total population, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Cities in Iowa by median age, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b01002.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-age/iowa-cities?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B01002: median age, total population, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Iowa by median age, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b01002.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-age/iowa-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_iowa_by_2021,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B01002: median age, total population, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Iowa by median age, 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b01002.dat},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-age/iowa-cities?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B01002: median age, total population, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary\_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b01002.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B01002: median age, total population, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Iowa by median age, 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/29
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b01002.dat
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-age/iowa-cities?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-age/iowa-cities?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B01002: median age, total population, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b01002.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

Which city has the highest median age?

Carroll, IA, with 43.2 years in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest median age?

Ames, IA, with 23.4 years in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B01002: median age, total population, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Retrieved 2026-10-12.